Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $214.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Diamondback Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $129.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.37.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG traded up $3.87 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $201.50. 1,873,837 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,530,138. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 1.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $194.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.58. Diamondback Energy has a 1 year low of $123.41 and a 1 year high of $211.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 36.71%. Diamondback Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.10 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Diamondback Energy will post 18.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.17, for a total value of $1,153,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 78,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,031,153.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.17, for a total value of $1,153,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,031,153.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $6,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 446,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,322,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 57,675 shares of company stock valued at $11,311,096. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 39.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,007,599 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $465,817,000 after purchasing an additional 858,446 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $128,720,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,266,640 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,209,617,000 after buying an additional 648,317 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 143.0% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 981,284 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $152,177,000 after buying an additional 577,514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 286.1% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 595,694 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $92,380,000 after acquiring an additional 441,411 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy, Inc, an independent oil and natural gas company, acquires, develops, explores, and exploits unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin in West Texas. It focuses on the development of the Spraberry and Wolfcamp formations of the Midland basin; and the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring formations of the Delaware basin, which are part of the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico.